Oil discharges, inclusive of accidental spills and runoff of oily wastes from drilling sites, have contaminated large land areas, creating direct hazards to the use of land. Streams have been contaminated by oily wastes, and marshlands and estuaries have been adversely affected by the runoff of oily wastes from contaminated land and streams.
Fissures have developed in offshore wells creating oil slicks on the surface which have fouled inland waters, beaches, and recreational areas. Major spills arising from maritime accidents, due to the large volumes of oil discharged into the seas by large tankers, have proven catastrophic. The effects on marine life, birds, and animals short term has been calamitous; and long term the total environmental effect, though yet largely unknown, may be worse.
Present techniques for controlling and removing an oil slick from surface waters leave much to be desired. Particulate, granular and fibrous materials capable, to some extent of floating and imbibing or absorbing oils, have been spread on water surfaces and the oily material then recovered by "sweep-up." Exemplary of such materials are, e.g., textile fibers, sawdust, wood chips, hay, straw, ground bark, and the like. Bogosian's U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,913 assigned to Johns-Manville Corporation, e.g., mentions the use of nylon fiber, rayon fiber, TEFLON shavings, polyester fiber, glass fiber, and fibers of wool or cotton. U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,918 teaches forming a hydrophobic oil absorption material from wood, cotton and other materials by treating the material with resin, or copolymer. These materials for use in containing oil spills, or for oil spill cleanup, have generally proven less effective than desired. Some of these materials simply are not adequately absorbent to pick up large quantities of oil from the water surface. Others, even when used in relatively large amounts, leave an oil sheen on the water surface. Some all too quickly become water logged and sink below the surface of the water such that the oily material cannot be recovered. This has created environmental problems for marine life at the bottom of the sea. Some absorb oil all too slowly, and the oil does not bond to the material with high affinity. Few, if any, of these materials are effective as agents for scrubbing the soil, and exposed rocks of an oil contaminated shore. The recent large oil spill in Prince William Sound off Alaska and national T.V. coverage has demonstrated to the world the present lack of effective technology for the cleanup of oil contaminated shores. For these and other reasons, there exists a clear present need for more effective oil spill fencing and cleanup materials.